Bella
Feminine · “beautiful (Italian and Spanish)”
Bella is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 83,721 girls against 45 boys since 1880.
Bella is the Italian and Spanish word for beautiful, and it is also the tail end of Isabella, Arabella and Annabella — a nickname that walked out of longer names and set up on its own. It has been on American records since the nineteenth century, quietly, and then arrived properly with the Twilight novels and the films that followed. Two syllables, both easy, and no one anywhere needs it spelled twice.
How old is the name Bella?
Bella was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Bella is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 78,500 people named Bella are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Bella most popular?
Bella peaked in 2010, reaching #48 nationally. Today it ranks #136, 88 places below that high. See the whole 2010 chart.
Where it comes from
From Elizabeth to Bella
The story of Bella
Latin bellus, meaning pretty or fine, gave Italian and Spanish their word bella, and that word has served as an affectionate name in southern Europe for centuries. In English it arrived by a second road as well: Elizabeth became Isabel in medieval Spain and France, Isabel grew into Isabella, and Isabella was clipped at the front to Bella — the same trick that produced Bettina and Elsa from the same long ancestor. Bella has also long been used in Jewish families in Europe and America, related to the Yiddish name Beyle. English novelists of the nineteenth century used it freely as a family nickname, and it has been on US records since that era, though its real surge is recent.
Meaning
beautiful (Italian and Spanish)
As a standalone word-name, Bella means beautiful. As a short form the meaning follows its parent: Isabella comes through Isabel from Hebrew Elisheva, usually read as God is my oath, while Arabella's origin is genuinely unsettled. So a Bella may be carrying either the adjective or the abbreviation, and both are correct.
Cultural footprint
Bella Hadid (b. 1996) — One of the world's most in-demand supermodels
Bella Abzug (b. 1920) — Trailblazing congresswoman famous for her hats
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- Elizabeth
- Isabel
- Isabella
- Bella
Related forms: Bella · Bella · Bela · Belle · Beyle · Bellina
Pronouncing Bella
BEL-uh
Stress on the first syllable. Italian and Spanish speakers give the double l a slightly longer hold, but the English pronunciation is the same two beats and needs no correcting.
Nicknames for Bella
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
- 2008 — Twilight hits theaters
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most girls named
- 20105,136 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #48reached in 2010
- Change vs 2022
- −27.0%2,129 in 2025, from 2,915
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Bella in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Bella in Italian — same name
- Bella in Spanish — same name
- Bela in Portuguese — spelling variant
- Belle in French — related form
- Beyle in Yiddish — related form
- Bellina in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida. International figures from Office for National Statistics. Sources
Bellas among us
people named Bella are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 755 born in 2025 was named Bella
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Sherry test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Bella's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Sherry climbed just as high around 1962, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Sherry's path sketches the road Bella is walking now.
Bella is coming down from a big peak (#48 in 2010). This is the stretch of the cycle where a name starts to sound like the decade it ruled.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Bella is headed
Bella is easing off slowly — about 18% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Bella beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Bella in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Short, fully phonetic and recognized in English, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese — almost never misspelled or mispronounced anywhere.
- Already a nickname, so it needs no shortening; it also works in reverse, with Isabella or Arabella on the birth certificate and Bella every day.
- Charts in England and Wales as well as the US, so it travels without translation.
- Carries a documented meaning parents can state in one word, which few short names do.
- Established across generations, from a congresswoman born in the early twentieth century to children in school now.
- For anyone who grew up with Twilight, Bella Swan will be the first association. That link is fading as the books age, but it is still the strongest cultural echo the name has.
- People will often assume it is short for Isabella and ask for the long version. Worth deciding in advance which answer you want to give.
- Bella is one of the most common dog names in the English-speaking world. In practice this rarely causes anything worse than a moment at the park, but it is fair to know.
- In a Spanish- or Italian-speaking household the name is also just the everyday word for beautiful, which can make compliments sound like repetition.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Bella
Feminine · #136 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Bellas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 78,500 people named Bella are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Bella in 2025?
- Bella ranks #136 among US girl names in 2025, with 2,129 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Bella?
- About 1 in every 755 US girls born in 2025 was named Bella — 2,129 in all.
- Will my child share the name Bella with classmates?
- Bella will almost certainly be the only one in school.
- What explains the spikes and dips on Bella's chart?
- Bella climbed after 2008 — Twilight hits theaters.
Ranked beside Bella
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rylee#137 · Savannah#135 · Emersyn#138 · Eva#134 · Charlie#133 · Elliana#139 · Alana#140 · Amira#132
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Bella? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Bella and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Or jump into a head-to-head
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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